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George has just been released from prison, and manages to get a job driving a call girl from customer to customer. Initially they don't get on; he doesn't fit in with the high class customers Simone services. Will they ever get on? Full summary » | Add synopsis »

MONA LISA is a complex, intriguing, multi-faceted combination of black
comedy, love story, crime drama and adult thriller that demands repeated
viewings in order to successfully peel back the various layers and get to
the heart of the matter. What you find there is entirely up to you, but I
believe it to be a sad and sensitive portrayal of a small-time crook trying
to fit into a world that simultaneously rejects and baffles him following
his belated release from prison. Hoskins, once again stunning in a role that
could have been written for him, is never too naive and never too
streetwise, more of an amiable combination of the two. There are obvious
paralells to his unforgettable character in THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY - in that
film, his character was a murderous thug who somehow remained worth caring
about (largely by virtue of his utter confusion at the collapse of his
criminal empire at the hands of forces unknown), whereas here, Hoskins'
character is appealing because he displays an inner core of utmost decency -
he seems shocked by the depths of depravity the underworld has stooped to in
his absence, he is stunned by his ex-wife's refusal to let him see his
daughter, and even the sight of his "tall, thin, black tart" (a brilliantly
understated performance by Cathy Tyson) pleasuring an obese businessman with
some light bondage leaves him disgusted and furious. In the film's latter
stages, he simmers and seethes like a faulty pressure cooker, and having
been by his side throughout his singularly upsetting voyage of discovery, we
can share his rage and frustration.

If I had to pick fault with MONA LISA, then that fault lies in Robbie
Coltrane's unconvincing performance as a wheeler-dealer who writes detective
stories and sells plastic foodstuffs. It isn't Coltrane's fault that the
character seems contrived and tacked on to the story just to make things a
little more abstruse (one of director Neil Jordan's most consistent
failings), but he seems to be plodding through his role indifferently,
rather than living it the way Caine and Hoskins are. Nonetheless, MONA LISA
is a very fine film and one that should be seen and digested by anyone with
an interest in British crime cinema.

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